Gendered Experiences of Hearing Impairment and Mental Health Among Married Couples

• In Event: 1421 - Disability and Family

Abstract

Disablement is a significant health problem and chronic stressor for older adults and is associated with negative mental health outcomes. Although some research has explored how disability extends beyond individuals to influence the mental health of their support networks, less population-based research has assessed the consequences of hearing impairment, a growing public health concern that affects 23% of Americans. The current study builds on stress proliferation, gender, and marriage research using data from the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2014) to estimate the association between hearing impairment in one spouse and depressive symptoms in the other. Mixed-effects modeling reveals that spousal hearing impairment is associated with one’s own depressive symptoms, regardless of the inclusion of demographic and health covariates. After interacting hearing impairment and gender, hearing impairment in male spouses significantly increases wives’ depressive symptoms, while hearing impairment in female spouses does not greatly increases husbands’ depressive symptoms. Results from this study indicate that spousal hearing impairment is a particularly important driver of one’s own depressive symptoms, and that this impact is gendered. Since women are traditionally responsible for caregiving, the added burden of hearing impairment may be increasing their stress levels.

Author

• Jessica West, Duke University